The collection of sugar maple sap for the purpose of creating maple syrup has long been practiced in the northern portions of the North America. Traditionally, sap was collected in buckets attached to maple trees and collected individually by hand. In recent years the collection of sap has been facilitated by the use of a system of conduits connected to a number of trees which lead to a collection station down hill from the farthest tree. Each tree is connected to a branch conduit by one or more tubes called “drops.” The drops are preferably made of plastic tubing connected at one end to a tap or spout placed in a tree and at the other end to the main or branch conduit by fittings of various configuration. For example, a T-shaped fitting can be used to connect a drop to a main or branch conduit.
In the spring, when the out door temperatures rise above freezing during the day and fall below freezing at night, the sap begins to rise in the sugar maple trees and the system of conduits must be connected between each tree in a sugar bush. There could be hundreds or thousands of trees which need to be connected to the main or branch conduit. For each tree, at least one drop is required. Creating these drops is a labor intesive job which could take many hours.
There are available in the industry numerous hand tools to facilitate the fabrication of drops based on various clamping pliers-like gripping or clamping tools many of which require both hands to operate. There is a need for a universal tool which can be used indoors and in the field.